Which Incubator to buy?

[TattooedMama]

Oh, how exciting! I've not yet hatched out turkey eggs, but just got my second hatch of chicks with the third on the way.

No, the turkey eggs need to have at least 65% humidity for hatching, not for incubation. Incubation humidity is determined by either air cell measurement or egg weights. But starting 3 days before the hatch, humidity should go up to 65-70%.

Ok I was worried for a second!! I know I am so very excited!!

We just got our first turkeys not too long ago and had to drive 3 hours for purebred Narragansetts here. Actually we drove 2 hours for some and I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't ask if they were purebred (

), in my defense she advertised them as such but still I normally know better & ask. As soon as we got there she said something about her Bourbon Red Tom and I said OH NO!! She actually tried to convince me that it didn't matter and get me to buy them anyways claiming people don't normally care as long as they are heritage turkeys and they look just like the Narris. Luckily, I refused to get pressured into it and didn't bring home birds that weren't what I wanted; by some miracle I called and left a 2nd message for the guy one hour further who hadn't called me back yet and he called me right back and had some babies. We fell in love immediately with them and found someone on Ebay with a farm in WA who seemed to be very knowledgable and had better gene diversity (around 50 free range birds with all unrelated toms) and stuck those in the bator.

As for the humidity issue, I think I will just plan ahead to find some sort of absorbent cloth/rag to use under the egg tray with a corner in the water channel for hatching as I did last time. I think you may be right about the humidity pump, I believe its more of a necessity than a true option. WHich is quite misleading, as you said, since we think we are getting a high end quality incubator for the lower price when it in fact is missing a majorly important capability to increase and hold humidity.

 

[TattooedMama]

UPDATE:: Brinsea sent my replacement parts fro my turner out on a 2 day Priority mail which is much appreciated. I'm a bit disappointed it wasn't packed well. The parts are smaller and even though it was a small box, there was lots of space and they were just taped to the inside of the box with no cushioning. Also there are no instructions!! Now I am left to attempt to dissect the turner tomorrow and hope that it is simple and straightforward. The clutch looks like just a few screws but there are some open ended wires for the motor. I just hope I can put it together right; really wish it had instructions!!!

 

[IncubatorWarehouse.com]

On another subject, I recently bought an Rcom Max 20, which I love and will post about as soon as I get more time. With a new hatch going every week I was thinking about getting an Incuview (from Incubator Warehouse) as a hatcher. But earlier today I read on the Incuview incubator thread that someone had two chicks injured in the Incuview because they got their legs caught up in the fan!! One died, and one is limping around but expected to survive. Does anyone on this thread have an Incuview? If so, is there such poor shielding over the fan that a chick can get caught in it?? If that's the situation, then it's totally off my list.

That sounds like an extremely rare accident. As you can see in the picture below we do include a protective fan guard and have never heard of any chicks being harmed before this. If there are any other cases such as this we would appreciate letting us know.

 

[Sydney Acres]

UPDATE:: Brinsea sent my replacement parts fro my turner out on a 2 day Priority mail which is much appreciated. I'm a bit disappointed it wasn't packed well. The parts are smaller and even though it was a small box, there was lots of space and they were just taped to the inside of the box with no cushioning. Also there are no instructions!! Now I am left to attempt to dissect the turner tomorrow and hope that it is simple and straightforward. The clutch looks like just a few screws but there are some open ended wires for the motor. I just hope I can put it together right; really wish it had instructions!!!

I would call and ask to speak to one of their repair technicians. Most of time they can walk you through it quite easily. Or, have you checked u-tube? I've gotten to the point that whenever I need to repair something I just type what I'm doing into a search engine and someone's posted a how-to video. Most of them are quite useful.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
If a really handy person were to put screen over that grate, would it affect the airflow of the fan enough to cause a problem?

 

[IncubatorWarehouse.com]

If a really handy person were to put screen over that grate, would it affect the airflow of the fan enough to cause a problem?

No it should keep running fine.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
Thank you. OK, Incuview is back on my list, as long as I can put screening over the fan. It's probably not necessary, but why take the chance.

 

[TattooedMama]

So after a busy few days and my new brinsea turner and clutch just sitting on my counter for days, I finally went to put it together last night. It wasn't difficult. My automatic turner is now back up and running. It's perfectly quiet and I saved the previous parts as I was not require to send them back; I figure it only makes an annoying noise but still works, it can't hurt to have a spare motor or clutch around if needed past the warranty period. It was pretty straightforward to take apart and put together. My only issue was separating the two pieces as they connect together and were fitted tightly. The turner is so lightweight and flimsy I was afraid to use a flathead to pry them apart-in fact my boyfriend told me not to lol. He went to get the instructions te unit originally came with and with one final look at the parts I decided it would work to pop it apart with the flathead screwdriver; it worked!! Overall not a bad experience.

Might I add, this machine is easy to turn "manually" as you literally just turn the machine since it has an octagonal shape. There is no need to open/close the incubator repeatedly or at all. It's just so ridiculously easy. This is why I had no rush to put the new turner together, still I'm glad to have it working again!!